The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Theme
Storyboard Text
- One major theme of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" by Rod Sterling is that mankind is its own worst enemy. One example in the story is when all of the residents of Maple Street begin blaming each other for supernatural events or weird things about them, specifically Les Goodman, because his car started on its own and he watches stars at night, Steve for working on a radio set, and Charlie, because he shot Pete out of fear. These people, without knowing it, become their own worst enemies in the fear that somebody among them is not human and they begin searching for someone to put the blame on instead of trying rational and logical solutions. In addition, later on, the once friendly neighbors begin grabbing weapons such as guns, rocks, and hammers to attempt to kill whoever they believe is the alien, or destroy suspicious items like the radio or Goodman's car. This shows that mankind is its own worst enemy because they are so quick to become violent without calmly talking or trying other solutions first, and because they turned so quickly on their neighbors who they had been friends with just before. They became their own enemies (whoever they thought to be suspicious became their enemies). In the end of the story, the aliens say, "They pick the most dangerous enemy they can find, and its themselves." This is almost directly stating the theme of the story, that mankind is its own worst enemy. The aliens also point out how they only needed to turn off and on a couple of lights and machines for the people to begin suspecting each other and for chaos to ensue. This is a crucial point, because it really wasn't a big deal in the end that the appliances weren't working, but that was all it took for the residents of Maple Street to turn on each other. In conclusion, in the story "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," the theme is that mankind is its own worst enemy.
- The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Theme: Mankind is it's own worst enemy.
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